Euromusic Song Contest 2014
The Euromusic Song Contest 2014 will be the 6th annual Euromusic Song Contest. The contest will take place in United Kingdom, following Cheryl Cole's win in the 2013 contest with the song "You". This will be the first time that Denmark will host the contest. So far sixeen countries have confirmed participation. On 10 May 2013 during the organizers press conference in Bucharest, the executive supervisor, Jon Ola Sand, commented that he hoped for the return of countries absent from the 2013 contest and that the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is in discussions with these broadcasters regarding their potential return. The preliminary dates set for the two semi-finals are 11 June and 12 June 2014, with the final planned for the evening of 13 June 2014. A number of cities, including Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield, will be considered as host cities. The contest is hosted by the British national broadcaster BBC, who have appointed Brian Burke as executive producer for the 2014 contest. Presenter(s) Today the British broardcaster Gary Barlow British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) decided who will host this year the 6th Euromusic Song Contest in London. After auditions with TV stars from United Kingdom BBC decided that Danny O'Donoghue, Jessie J and Gary Barlow will be the main hosts. Danny O'Donoghue Danny O'Donoghue was originally a member of a late 1990s band called Mytown with friend (and now also band member of The Script) Mark Sheehan, after being signed to Universal Records in 1999. After its moderate success, O'Donoghue moved to Los Angeles with Sheehan to write songs and produce for artists such as Britney Spears, Boyz II Men and TLC. After one year of writing, O'Donoghue and Sheehan moved back to Dublin and, recruiting drummer Glen Power, started working on their own material. They formed the band The Script in 2001. The band released their eponymous debut album on 8th August 2008. O'Donoghue co-wrote all the songs on the album. The album went on to become a commercial success, especially in their home country of Ireland, peaking at number one on the Irish Album Chart. The band has since released two more albums: Science and Faith on September 2010 and #3 on September 2012. The Script have toured since early March 2013 for their #3 tour in the UK. They performed in some of the UK's largest arenas and cities such Birmingham, London and Manchester. In 2012 O'Donoghue made his first appearance in The Voice UK alongside Jessie J, will.i.am and Tom Jones as a coach. The decision was supported by bandmates Glen Power and Mark Sheehan, who said: "Danny did The Voice to put a face to The Script. We know about producing, song writing and performing – we’ve been doing it since we were 14 or 15. Danny on a show about singing was good for us. People saw how passionate he is about music, how much it means to him and it made our band better known.” The appointment of O'Donoghue as coach initially drew criticism, with Twitter users branding him "Danny I Dunno Who" and comedian James Corden joking about it at the 2012 BRIT Awards. O'Donoghue retaliated saying "James who? Whatever. It’s up to other people to make up their own minds. I know I’m on this show for what I’ve done in my career. I’ve spent 15 years in the music industry, it’s all I know." Since then, however, the show has helped contribute to O'Donoghue's popularity, with O'Donoghue stating there was a "big outpouring of love for The Script" but adding that it "could have gone the other way." He was asked to appear as a judge for The Voice again in 2013 after leading 'Team Danny' to great success. O'Donoghue also co-wrote the track "Alive" for Bo Bruce's album Before I Sleep. On 16 July 2013, Danny announced he was to the leave the show to concentrate on the Script. He will be replaced by Ricky Wilson. Jessie J Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), better known by her stage name Jessie J, is an English singer and songwriter. Born and brought up in London, England, she studied at the BRIT School before signing with Gut Records and striking a songwriting deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing where she wrote for artists including Chris Brown and Miley Cyrus. After signing with Universal Republic, Jessie J came to prominence following the release of her début single, "Do It Like a Dude", which peaked at number two on the UK Singles Charts. In 2011, after topping the charts in nineteen countries including the United Kingdom, France, Ireland and New Zealand, with the song "Price Tag", she released her début album, Who You Are, which charted at number two in the UK. Other releases from the album included "Nobody's Perfect", "Who's Laughing Now" and "Who You Are", which all charted within the top 20 in the UK. Release of the fifth single, "Domino", resulted in further international chart success, peaking at number six on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and becoming her second UK number one. The seventh single released from Who You Are, "LaserLight", became the album's sixth top ten single, making her the first British female artist to have six top ten singles from a studio album. Her second album, Alive, was released on 23 September 2013 and reached the top 5 in the UK Albums Chart. An adapted version of the album is planned for release in the U.S. in 2014. Aside from her musical career, Jessie J served as coach and mentor on television show, The Voice UK. Citing various influences, Jessie J is recognised for an unconventional musical and performance style23 that mixes soul vocals with contemporary R&B, pop, electropop, and hip-hop beats. Jessie J has garnered various awards and nominations for contributions to the music industry, including the 2011 Critics' Choice BRIT Award and the BBC's Sound of 2011. As of April 2012, Jessie had sold over 11 million singles and 2.5 million albums, worldwide. Gary Barlow Gary Barlow OBE (born 20 January 1971) is an English singer-songwriter, pianist and record producer. He is frontman and lead vocalist of British pop-group Take That and served as head judge on series 8, 9 and 10 of The X Factor UK. Barlow is one of Britain's most successful songwriters, having written thirteen Number 1 singles and twenty three top 10 hits He has had three Number 1 singles, six top 10 singles and two Number 1 albums as a solo artist, and has had sixteen top 5 hits, eleven Number 1 singles and seven Number 1 albums with Take That. He is also a six-time recipient of the Ivor Novello Award and has sold over 50 million records worldwide. He was appointed an OBE in 2012 for services to music and charity. Location On 17 June 2013, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) announced that O2 Arena in London would be the host venue for the 2014 Euromusic Song Contest. Seven cities have been considered for the host city of the contest including London and Birmingham which are the favorites to host. The O2 Arema, located in London, and the LG Arena, located in Birmingham, were the first venues to join the bidding phase. Later Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham and Sheffield entered the phase with First Direct Arena, Echo Arena, Manchester Arena, Capital FM Arena and Motorpoint Arena venues respectively. Semi-final allocation draw The allocation draw will take place on 20 January 2014. The distribution of countries in pots are as follows: Confirmed participants Valentina Monetta will represent San Marino for a third consecutive year, having previously represented the nation at the 2012 and 2013 contests. National Selections * Ireland - X Factor UK * Moldova - Factor Moldova * Romania - Sing for Euromusic 2014 * Sweden - Star Factor Svarige * United Kingdom - Star Factor UK Semi-final 1 France, Ireland and Norway will vote in this semi-final. Semi-final 2 Germany, Italy, and United Kingdom will vote in this semi-final. Semi-finalists Finalists Returning artists Other countries * Andorra – The Andorran broadcaster Ràdio i Televisió d'Andorra (RTVA) informed a Euromusic news website that due to financial reasons and a tight budget, Andorra would not return to the contest in 2014. * Bulgaria – Though at first BNT announced its participation, later on 22 November 2013, BNT announced its withdrawal, due to budget cuts and financial reasons. * Croatia – Croatian broadcaster Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT) announced on 19 September 2013 that they are withdrawing from the 2014 contest, citing the Eurozone crisis|European financial crisis, as well as a string of poor results between and influencing their decision to take a year break. The last time Croatia qualified for the grand final was in . * Cyprus – On 3 October 2013, the Cypriot broadcaster Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC) announced their withdrawal from the 2014 contest, citing public opinion regarding the 2012–13 Cypriot financial crisis and budget restrictions as factors that influenced this decision. However, another broadcaster in Cyprus, Sigma TV, offered sponsorship to CyBC with the deputy chief of the channel saying: "We are willing to produce the national selection and the necessary expenses for the song and the artist like MAD TV did for Greece last year… it’s never too late for CyBC to change their minds, there’s still time". * Czech Republic – The Czech broadcaster Česká televize (ČT) confirmed on 30 September 2013, that they will not be returning to the contest in 2014, citing low viewing figures and poor results as their reason. * Greece – The Greek government has shut down the radio and TV services of the state broadcaster ERT, leaving Greece's future contest participation in question. The event supervisor of the Contest said regarding Greece's participation: "EBU will do its best to have Greece on board, given the fact of the special occasion". It was also said that the Greek government has to form the new broadcaster, NERIT, so it will be eligible to participate. Dimosia Tileorasi (DT), the Greek interim channel, has informed Esctoday.com that the country will most likely participate in the Contest. On the 22nd of November, Greece confirmed participation. * Poland – A decision regarding a return to the 2014 Contest by Telewizja Polska (TVP) is expected on 22 November 2013. Poland withdrew in 2012 due to the broadcaster's primary financial focus being on the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship (which Poland co-hosted with Ukraine) along with the 2012 Summer Olympics. * Serbia – On November 22, 2013 Serbia announces its withdrawal, due to financial reasons. * Slovakia – Participation in the 2014 contest was denied by the official Twitter feed for the Slovakian broadcaster Rozhlas a televízia Slovenska (RTVS), when they were asked by ESC Club Slovakia on 1 September whether they would be taking part in the 2014 contest. * Slovenia – Slovenia has submitted its application to participate in Euromusic 2014. However, sources say a final decision regarding participation will be made in December. * Turkey – On 14 September 2013, the general director of Türkiye Radyo ve Televizyon Kurumu (TRT), İbrahim Şahin, stated that there are no plans to return to the contest under the current conditions. Dissatisfaction with the Voting at the Eurovision Song Contest|introduction of a mixed jury/televote voting system and the current status of the "Big Five" were once again cited as reasons for this decision. The non-participation was confirmed on 7 November 2013. International broadcasts and voting Commentators * France – Cyril Féraud and Natasha St-Pier (France 3, final) * Italy - TBA (Rai 4, semi-final), (Rai 2, final) * Netherlands – Cornald Maas and Jan Smit (Nederland 1, all shows)